This & That: March 9, 2018

Mar 09, 2018

Beauty

The French perfumer Buly is a destination to visit while in Paris (two locations – one on the left and one on the right bank) to discover new and natural scents for the body, facial, teeth, hair and home. While boutiques can be found around the world (Tokyo, London, New York City, Seoul), just have a look inside the historical building on rue Bonaparte with the expertly crafted wood cupboards, shelves and counters. Having begun in the late 17th century and officially in 1803, not only are you choosing a piece of history, but luxury beauty essentials as well, such as their purifying and make-up removing milk. Now that sounds like a luxurious way to tend to an everyday necessary task.

Books

Having taken a closer look at the multitude of studies that have been done on successful habit building and how to institute the change we seek in our lives, author Stephen Guise, whose own life and health have dramatically changed due to the approach he shares in the book, reveals how to attain the change we seek. With a premise of “too small to fail”, he reveals how you too can cultivate a life of habits that enhance the overall quality of your life.

While being released next month (April 10), I thought with International Women’s Day being celebrated yesterday, Michelle Dean’s new book Sharp would be a great book to include today. Profiling women who lived, strived and changed the 20th century in the United States, each of the women included embody the ability to “cut to the quick with precision of thought and wit”. Who are the women, you may be wondering? Dorothy Parker, Rebecca West, Hannah Arendt, Mary McCarthy, Susan Sontag, Pauline Kael, Joan Didion, Nora Ephron, Renata Adler, and Janet Malcolm. I do think it will be a wonderful read.

Emma Bryne takes a scientific approach to understanding exactly why we swear, how we swear, and what swearing tells us about ourselves. In so doing, she reveals a myriad of findings, many of them unexpected, and presents them with a light-hearted spin. The reality is swearing has been around for centuries, the key is to understanding why the trend continues across all languages. As a language teaching, this book is going in my shopping cart.

Broadway

Laurie Metcalf’s career is soaring, and when I learned she was in a new Broadway play with two other talented actresses that I recognized Glenda Jackson (2x Academy Award winner) and Alison Pill (The Newsroom), I wanted to learn more about the plot. Each woman, unrelated and without traditional names (Woman A, Woman B and Woman C) are of three different generations experiencing life in three different ways although there are overlapping similarities. Described by the playwright to The Economist as in many ways a play that was “a kind of exorcism”, to have written about women while not being one, but based on one’s experiences with them offers a unique experience. Written by Edward Albee and having won a Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1994 (his third), Three Tall Women is currently in previews and will be officially opening on March 29th, so if you are in New York City, perhaps you will want to check it out.

Television

She is back! While I know she is working on a cookbook which will be released in the next year or so, I was thrilled to see she isn’t waiting to offer her fans a new season of her cooking show. Beginning this Sunday at noon on the Food Network, tune in each week for eight total episodes (and be sure to watch episode #7 which is titled “Simply French”). You know what I will be doing on Sunday for lunch, watching Ina!

I love to stumble across new-to-me television series on Netflix, and such was the case when I came across Monty Don in Big Dreams, Small Spaces. A one hour program dedicated to helping two different families or individuals make-over their outdoor space and learn an immense amount about gardening along the way with expert gardener Monty Don. Viewers in the UK are probably well acquainted with Don from his BBC Two show Gardeners’ World. Most recently, his book Down to Earth: Gardening Wisdom, which was released this past year, is already a best-seller. If you love gardening, or simply love seeing “before” and “after” outdoor living spaces, you will enjoy this show.

I have a feeling you will recognize at least one, if not all, of the stars in Acorn’s new drama which premiered this past January. Phyllis Logan from Downton Abbey stars in Girlfriends alongside Miranda Richardson and Zoë Wanamaker in a series that is tempting me to resubscribe to a wonderful source for British shows and programs ($4.99/month or $49/yr). Focused on the three women’s journeys through life together as they discover many new adventures just when they thought the adventures were behind them, laugh, cry and I do think you’ll enjoy. Have a look at the trailer below and learn more about AcornTV here.

A fresh new weekend is about to begin, and with it absolute, wide-open free time. What an amazing, atypical situation. The editing on TSLL’s second book is all but wrapped up, and it just so happens that this weekend is one in which I have no tasks and can do . . . well, I do not know what I will do with it, but I love that I have choices.

I hope you are looking ahead at a weekend that is full of opportunity to enjoy, rejuvenate, perhaps travel or play or whatever you are needing at the moment. Below are a few articles and a couple of videos I thought you might enjoy while you were unwinding. Thank you for stopping by and have a beautiful few days of doing what brings you a deep breath of appreciation. Until Monday, bonne journée.

~And below, two videos I enjoyed this week and wanted to share: How to Choose a Partner Wisely and Business Advice from two women whose business is something I read each workday morning – the founders of TheDaily Skimm.

Beauty —Buly 1803 The French perfumer Buly is a destination to visit while in Paris (two locations – one on the left and one on the right bank) to discover new and natural scents for the body, facial, teeth, hair and home. While boutiques can be found around the world (Tokyo, London, New York City, […]

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6 thoughts on “This & That: March 9, 2018”

I MUST read that book on swearing! Undoubtedly explains why I’m so healthy: I’ve been known to string together swear words in ways that don’t even make sense and certainly are biologically impossible. Personally, I’ve never thought of them as “bad words.” There are no “bad” words or “good words”… only words.

🙂 You have a very creative mind it sounds like. 😉 It is the the power we give to words, the context, the tone and the many other details that determine why we use the words we do. An all out ban is something certainly to be examined as much as the words we choose and when.

Timely to mention Monty Don our “jewelled” gardener as spring is around the corner.He was a jeweller with his wife to the rich and famous in the 80’s!! Like Norman his dog Nigel a golden retriever became a big star after he appeared with him on the BBC’s gardener’s world. Nigel inspired fan mail and his own social media accounts. Have you read Mont Don”s “The Road to Tholonet”? A man travels around France visiting gardens but it is filled with stories about what makes France unlike anywhere else. Lovely read.
Have a great weekend. 😊